Updated at 12.45pm: Adds PL statement

The dismissal of 12 workers from the American University of Malta continued to prove the Opposition and environmental organisations right that the ODZ land at Żonqor should be returned to the public, the Nationalist Party said in a statement.

The party was referring to media reports which said that 12 full-time lecturers and other administrative staff at the AUM were abruptly dismissed by email yesterday with no explanation being given.

According to reports, the AUM has only retained three staff members – the registrar, a quality assurance manager and a librarian.

The PN said that the university of 15 students did not need 18,000 square metres of ODZ land as well as the Dock 1 historic building in Cospicua, unless the government intended to allow this to become a speculative project.

The way the workers were dismissed, through an email, also showed the lack of professionalism in the university’s administration, the PN said.

It insisted that the deal was bad for the country and would stealing natural environmental space from the community in the south of the island.

Since Sadeen Group was not honouring the agreement it had signed, the government should take control of the situation and return the land to the public as the Nationalist Party had requested in a motion it moved earlier this week, it said.

PL statement

In a reply, the Labour Party said it had been made clear repeatedly that Żonqor would only be used for educational purposes when this was necessary.

This was according to the contract approved by Parliament on a project which, according to independent studies, should be successful.

For AUM to be given a university licence, a study had been carried out by PwC which also expressed confidence in the investors behind the project.

The PN’s continuous statement at a time when the project was still in its infancy, reflected the negativity the party was still in, the PL said